1. Field Of the Invention
This invention relates generally to footwear and specifically to athletic footwear having a removable instep support which serves as an interchangeable support structure for the instep portion of the wearer's foot.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many sporting activities, the wearer of athletic footwear is particularly vulnerable to injury from inadequate support of the instep region of the foot. This vulnerability arises due to the potential for accidental blows from objects and individuals as well as the potential for the foot to shift within the shoe during strenuous activity. These difficulties have led to the development of athletic shoes having means to better support the instep region of the wearer's foot.
Many of the methods to provide such support involve means to secure the tongue over the instep portion of the wearer's foot. U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,543 to Merritt teaches a method for lacing the shoe whereby the lacing margin of a shoe upper and a tongue contain eyelets through which a lace passes to center the tongue over the instep of the wearer's foot. Although this design maintains alignment of the tongue over the instep, it does not provide any additional support beyond that which is already offered by the tongue.
It is also known to use straps attached to the shoe to help secure the foot of the wearer. U.S. Pat. No. 1,663,221 to Scroggins teaches a boot with straps attached to one side of an ankle support which secure through openings in the tongue and upper to one side of the upper by a buckle. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,708,156 to Scroggins teaches a boot with straps attached to one side of an ankle support which overlay the instep region of the wearer's foot and secure over the lacing margin to the opposite side of the upper by fastening means attached to the opposite side of the ankle support. U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,451 to Cumin discloses a flap which is permanently attached to the upper and covers the opening in the instep, securing to the vamp on the opposite side. British Patent 121,573 to Loud discloses a strapping system whereby a strap is integrally attached to the tongue and fastens to itself through openings in the upper. In all of the aforementioned designs, the straps are cumbersome to the wearer because they must be separately fastened to the upper while the shoe is still laced in the conventional way. In addition, because the straps are integral to the shoe, the wearer has no option but to use them.
The Avia Model 2075 Running shoe contains straps attached to the upper which pass through openings in the heel counter and secure to the shoe by holes in the ends for laces. The straps are primarily intended to provide ankle and heel support to the wearer's foot and are not removable. The Reebok Tongue Strapping System for a Shoe Upper by Smith, et. al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,529 ) teaches a shoe with straps attached to the tongue which pass through openings in the upper and secure by lacing apertures in the straps. Although this design provides instep support to the wearer's foot, a major disadvantage is that because the straps are integrally attached to the tongue, the wearer does not have the option of not using the straps when securing the shoe laces. An additional disadvantage is that the straps are not interchangeable with other straps.
Attempts have been made to employ separate devices to provide support to the wearer's foot as well. U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,500 to Maccano discloses a shoe having straps secured to a sling member which underlies the foot of the wearer. The straps extend upwardly and exit the shoe at openings near the lacing portion, where they are fastened together by lacing or other means. By providing support to the instep portion of the foot from below, the design has a major disadvantage by not providing protection to the top of the instep of the wearer's foot. U.S. Pat. No. 1,184,013 to Pierce discloses a shoe-cushion-hood system whereby a cushion designed to overlay the instep portion of the shoe opening adjacent to the lacing margin can be fastened to the upper by lacing. The cushion may be protected by a separate or integral hood member which overlays the cushion and fastens to the shoe upper on the lateral and medial sides. While the hood and cushion system together provide support to the instep of the wearer's foot, a major disadvantage of this design is that the cushion and the hood, together or separately, require both lacing and other means to attach to the shoe, making the system both cumbersome and unsightly.
Accordingly, prior to the development of the present invention, no shoe existed which integrated a single, removable, interchangeable, and simply attached member to provide protection and support to the instep portion of the foot of the wearer.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an athletic shoe having additional support in the instep region of the foot of the wearer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an athletic shoe which provides such instep support in an interchangeable and removable yet simply attached support piece which adds to the support of the shoe without detracting from the shoe's appearance.